Is AI Creating a World Without Choice? How to Fight Back with Jacob Ward

Self-Helpless

Cloud10

Comedy, Science, Alternative Health, Health & Fitness, Education

4.8 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 17 December 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Delanie Fischer chats with Jacob Ward, veteran technology journalist and correspondent, about how AI differs from past technological inventions and why this moment feels fundamentally different. They explore some of the inner workings of artificial intelligence including LLMs, the effects of over-reliance on these tools, and what the future may look like for regulation, responsibility, and human connection. Episode Highlights: AI Psychosis, Addiction, Romance, Friendship, And How We’ll Define It The Risk Of Outsourcing Critical Thinking, Creativity, And Connection Two Problematic Features Of Large Language Models (LLMs) AI Slop, Clanker Culture, And Undetectable Fake Imagery Is Ad Placement Next, And Will We Know We’re Being Sold To? Tech Leaders: Responsibility, Ideology, And Profit Motives Desire And Purpose: The “Smoker” And “Heroin” Problem Analogies ____ A quick 5-star rating for Self-Helpless means so much! ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-helpless/id1251196416⁠ Free goodies like The Quote Buffet + The Watch & Read List: ⁠https://www.selfhelplesspodcast.com/⁠ Ad-free episodes on ⁠Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/selfhelpless⁠ Your Host, Delanie Fischer:⁠ https://www.delaniefischer.com⁠ ____ Related Episodes: AI, Robotics, and The Future of Work and Life with Dr. Catie Cuan: https://www.delaniefischer.com/selfhelplesspodcast/episode/2458ba1f/ai-robotics-and-the-future-of-work-and-life-with-dr-catie-cuan The Lost Secrets of Civilization: Ancient Innovation and Forgotten Wisdom with Jack R. Bialik: https://www.delaniefischer.com/selfhelplesspodcast/episode/d6769440/the-lost-secrets-of-civilization-ancient-innovation-and-forgotten-wisdom-with-jack-r-bialik It’s Not a Mental Health Crisis: Human Reactions to a Loneliness Epidemic with Dr. Jody Carrington: https://www.delaniefischer.com/selfhelplesspodcast/episode/2d626d7b/its-not-a-mental-health-crisis-human-reactions-to-a-loneliness-epidemic-with-dr-jody-carrington Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	It pays to be part of the team.
0:02.8	Stay loyal, get rewarded with Tieri-on-Ree.
0:05.7	At Betway, bet 10 pounds and get 40 pounds in free bets.
0:09.2	Download the Betway app today.
0:11.0	18 plus TisNC App 5, Bet the Responsible Way, gamblerware.org.
0:15.1	Lately, I've been so stuck in my head that I forget just about everything my therapist said, maybe I'm self-helpless.
0:26.3	Hey everyone, welcome to Self-Hourpless, where science, spirituality, and sustainability are brunch
0:30.8	buddies.
0:31.6	I'm Delaney Fisher.
0:32.6	And details about today's topic can be found in the episode description.
0:36.3	Returning listeners, if an episode
0:37.8	of Self-Houpless has supported you in some way, a quick five-star rating or review, if you
0:42.3	haven't left one already, honestly keeps this indie podcast alive amidst the big old budget
0:48.2	behemoths out there. So thank you for feeding the algorithm a little treat for me. Ad-free episodes are now on Patreon
0:55.6	at patreon.com slash self-helpless and info about some free goodies will be shared in the outro.
1:01.3	Okay, it's podcast time. How is AI different from past technologies like, you know, radio, internet,
1:08.6	social media, smartphones, tools that kind of initially
1:11.7	sparked concern, as they always do, but they eventually become kind of a mixed bag, right?
1:16.5	They're used for good, bad, mundane. Why do you believe AI needs to be scrutinized through
1:21.6	a different lens than those technologies, I guess? That's a great question. Delaney, thank you so much
1:27.3	for having me. I really appreciate it.
1:28.3	And I would say that, yeah, you know, so I've been in technology correspondent for a long time. I've covered this world for a long time, right? And I covered the original internet, boom. I'm old enough to have been a reporter when I first graduated from college in the 90s and, you know, you know, people are selling pet food online and the question then was, well, why is this different?
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 23 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Cloud10, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Cloud10 and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.